Mechanical toy



April 6 1926. 1,579,787

I F. L. SCHL-EY MECHANICAL TOY Filed Jan. 14 1925 i INVENTOR H ram/01M. 50/45 BY ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 6, 1926. p

VOUNI'TE-DJSTATES FREDERICK L. SCHLEY,

OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR'TO FERDINAND STRAUSS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. j i

MECHANICAL TOY.

Application filed January 14, 1925. Serial No.2,243.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LFmcnn-nroir L. Sorrnnr, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Brooklyn, Kings County, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Toys, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a mechanical toy madetosimulate a Zeppelin airship.

A particular object of the invention is to provide-a toy of this character which will travel on the ground and have the movement that the larger airship would have while travelling through the air.

- A further object is to provide a toy which, when suspended, on a cord from its center, will fly around in a circle.

' Astill further object isto provide a toy of this character which will travel along a stringer wire stretched in horizontal position across a room, and one which will 1 provide amusement for children and which can be .made up in large quantities at a minimum cost. 7 V p Referring to the drawing, wherein I have shown a preferredembodiment of my invention; a a

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of my y; t

Figure 2 is a view in rear. elevation showing the relative location .of the two rear gondolas and the supporting wheels under which a wire passes when the toy is used to travel in the air;

Figure 3 is a View in side elevationshown partly in section to disclose the interior propelling mechanism; and

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4: of Fig. 3 showing the arrangement of the driving gears of the motor.

Referring to the drawing in detail 5 indicates the cigar-like shaped body of the toy airship having suspended therebeneath at the front, the control car 6 and: at the rear the two gondolas 7 which are spaced apart and connected to the body 5 of the airship by the braces or connecting pieces 8 and connected to each other by the crosspiece 9. The control car 6 is held to the In order to propel the toy, I provide in the body thereof a spring operated motor consistlng of frame pieces 12 and 13 the upper one 12 being. soldered or otherwise secured to the top'of the body and the lower one 13 being likewise fastened to the bottom ofthe body, both interiorly, and so disposed as to provide journals for a plurality of vertically disposed shafts, the shaft 14 carrying a drum 15 to one end of which is attached a driving gear 16. This gearis loosely mounted on shaft .14, the latter having fixed thereto at the opposite end of the drum 15, the ratchet wheell'? which is engaged by the usual pawl 18 pivoted to part 12 of the frame, to prevent the unwinding of the spring 19 which is coiled about the drum and'has one end attached thereto adjacent th-e gear 16, the opposite end being secured to the ratchet wheel so that when the shaft 14 is wound through the medium of its exteriorly extended finger piece 20,

the spring 19 is wound up, andsubsequently operates the dr ve gear 16.

The gear 16 meshes at its opposite sides with twopinions 21 and 22 the pinion 21 bethe rear end of the body 5 and carries a propeller 1-9. The shaft also carries a small drum 27 which operates the auxiliary propeller shafts 30 journaled' in the gondolas through the medium of belts 31 which operate drums '32 secured on said shafts 30. These shafts 3O carry small propellers 33 which simulate those used in the regular airships. v i The gondolas are provided with ground engaging wheels 3% which are carried on the transverse shafts 35, journaled in the sides of the gondolas.

The pinion 22 is carried on a vertically disposed shaft 36 which carries at its ends the driving pinions 87 and 38 the latter being disposed at the lower end ofthe shaft in engagement with a flanged gear 39 which is secured to a shaft 40 housed in the control car 6. The shaft 40 also carries the eccentrically mounted ground engaging wheel ll secured thereto.

The idea of mounting the wheel 41 eccentrically provides a billowy-like movement to the toy when the same is travelling along the floor. The front end of the toy has a lowering and raising movement during its travel along the floor, it being understood that the wheel 4L1 propels the toy along the floor.

The pinion 37 also engages a flanged gear secured to a shaft 48. the shaft being held in the side walls of a housing 44 on top of the l)()( y of the toy. The shaft 4:3 also carries a traction wheel 45 which carries the toy along a wire or cord which can be stretched across the room, the cord being shown in dot and (lash lines in Fig. 3.

It will be evident that the grooved traction wheel will propel the toy along a wire or cord, while the rear end of the toy is supported upon the wire or cord through the medium of the loosely mounted wheel -16 pivoted to the vertical blade l7, the blade being siinulative of those used in the large airships and of which I have provided side blades 48 and a bottom rudder-like blade 49.

It will be evident that when a string is attached to the loop 50 and the toy suspended, the propeller 2.9 will drive the toy around in a circle. Vhen the toy is placed on a horizontally disposed string the wheel 45 will propel the same. When the toy is placed on the floor the wheel 41 will propel the same. In this latter instance the rear end of the toy is supported in space relation with the floor by the free wheels 34 one of each being disposed on the shafts 35 which are journa-led in the side walls of the gondolas 7.

It is apparent therefore that I have provided a toy which will amuse children which has few working parts, and which will not easily get out of working order. The toy is operable on the floor, on a cord or wire stretched across a room, or suspended on a vertical cord to have circular movement. The toy is made up after the large Zeppelin airships and is ornamental and instructive as well as amusing.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. Atoy airship comprising a body portion, housings on said body, a motor in said body, a ground engaging wheel associated with one. of the housings, propellers on said body portion and on some of said housings and shaft members in said body and in the housings operated by the motor for actuating the propeller and the ground engaging wheel.

2. A toy constructed to simulate an air-' ship having a body portion, a motor mechanism in said body portion housings on said body portion, propelling wheels in some of said housings, propellers associated with the other housings, and connections to said propellers and the propelling wheels whereby the same are operated from said motor mechanism.

3. A toy airship comp-rising an elongated cylindrical body member, supporting wheels disposed at the top and bottom rear part of said body portion, propelling wheels disposed at the top and bottom of the front of said body portion, and a motor mechanism comprising driven gears adapted to engage said propelling wheels for actuating the same to cause travel of said toy along the ground or along a suspended cord.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

FREDERICK L. soHLEY. 

